"Even though El Capitan was no longer being distributed, I continued to get inquires and requests for the film. When very, poor, quality bootlegged copies started showing up on the Internet, I knew I had to do something. I decided to look at the original film, that ran through the camera, and to my surprise after almost 45 years, it still looked pretty good. I had it digitized (scanned) in high definition. The new technology is of such high resolution that every little scratch and bit of dirt on the film showed up crystal clear. In order to restore the film to its original condition, over 86,000 frames, one frame at a time, has to be digitally cleaned and repaired. With digital software we are able to reconstruct the film with all the original effects, restore the color, and make it look even better than the 16mm film prints.

After several years of being repeatedly asked, “Whatever happened to the climbers?” I approached them with the idea of making a film that would reveal their lives today, and have them recall their memories of filming El Capitan. About a year ago, I started filming and have captured some delightful and insightful moments of their lives and accomplishments. Though still being edited, the film is turning out to be candid and entertaining. When it is finished, it will be included on the DVD with the restored El Capitan.

With the money that I hope to raise from Kickstarter contributors, I will be able to complete the El Capitan film restoration, finish “Whatever happened to the climbers?” (working title) and prepare the DVD master.

After being out of distribution for over 10 years, with your help, the classic film, El Capitan, will finally be available again, restored in HD and looking better than ever.

If you would be inclined to pass this information on to your friends by way of Twitter and Facebook, it would really help.

Yeah...I think it's come up once or twice. No USD to kickstart my own butt right now, though.

But I'll be 1st in-line to grab Padula's DVD, when and if it's released; BITD had the pleasure of having him personally present his masterpiece, w/ a fine Q&A session, in good old ivy covered Wheeler Hall.

His SF State protegee, Glen Denny, also cut his teeth on “Nyala,” a B&W short of Gary Colliver soloing S. Face Cathedral Pk. Rented it from Canyon Cinema for my b'day party once...and was interrupted by a telephone call of a Job Offer.

Gosh! It's almost 5 o'clock (YOSAR Time) – I've managed to waste the entire day here, waiting for tomorrow's Rx refill appt. But, I did manage to clean my office up a bit, which I do once a year, whether it needs it or not.

C' ya_

“Because high times sometimes begin on a Low Note” Space-Age-Bachelor.com

Wow, this is great to hear! I have the original on a VHS but nothing to play it on (loaned that to someone here who was doing the Nose for the first time a few years back). One of my all time favorites. Will definitely pitch in with the Kickstarter campaign later tonight.

Even though El Capitan was no longer being distributed, I continued to get inquires and requests for the film. When very, poor, quality bootlegged copies started showing up on the Internet, I knew I had to do something. I decided to look at the original film, that ran through the camera, and to my surprise after almost 45 years, it still looked pretty good. I had it digitized (scanned) in high definition. The new technology is of such high resolution that every little scratch and bit of dirt on the film showed up crystal clear. In order to restore the film to its original condition, over 86,000 frames, one frame at a time, has to be digitally cleaned and repaired. With digital software we are able to reconstruct the film with all the original effects, restore the color, and make it look even better than the 16mm film prints.

Plus he'll need to restore the audio - a damn fine soundtrack, from what I've heard so far.

Plus what kicks a lot of kickstarters in the kiester is delivering on their pledges to their backers:

Pledge $30 or more and receive an El Capitan Blu-Ray or DVD with the newly restored El Capitan film and the new film, “Whatever happened to the climbers? Also receive a t-shirt and a poster.

Add shipping and he's barely covering his costs there. So we're almost talking pre-orders. Hopefully 800 odd pre-orders at the $30 price point covers his production costs and replication, t-shirts, printing. That's a pretty thin margin. If he can pull it off, I'd give him the benefit of the doubt here.

I'd still love to see a screening of the 16mm, warts and all - anybody else?

Helping out starts at a dollar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU SAYING YOU DON'T HAVE A DOLLAR?????????????????????????????????????????

No, Farouk, not even a dime, right now - I just made my Sept mortgage payment - on Oct 5.

Plenty of reasons. For the 1st time, in some 30 years of private practice, the 2007 recession resulted in client payments defaults, by now exceeding $50k.

During the runup, I'd busied myself with work which resulted in about $6m construction valuation, these buildings were completed in 2007. (this included, to my pleasure, 2 homes in Yosemite West for a couple of my homies, presently employed by the Climbing School)

I've been supporting my family, and my business, with garage and deck additions ever since, and damn lucky to have even those.

To the global financial meltdown add last winter's drought. "We're all farmers here," Dave McCoy has remarked on more than one occasion; Mammoth lives and dies on its snowfall.

Things do seem to be improving lately, quarter over quarter, but slowly. Which is why I'm bivied at my atelier this weekend instead of in the Valley.

In fact, today I'm working on the exterior elevations (the Fun part) of small chalet, to be sited on the very highest private parcel in June Lake's Clark Tract. On a narrow pad hemmed in hard by a 50 foot cliff band behind, and a steep drop off below, the property commands an outstanding prospect of Carson Pk, across the canyon, from about its 1/3 height.

Since the Owner has predetermined the classic lines of a Tyrolean Chalet, I won't really get to experiment much with the plate glass and flying steel the site deserves. But I think I'll be able to carve out some innovation as the opportunities suggest themselves.

Half the reward of my line are the people my Work it brings me into contact with; in this case, both husband and wife are physicians, who've owned this lot since 1960, together with some adjacent lots on which they've already another cabin. At age 86, he continues his practice of an anathesiologist, and comes across with a terrific vitality.

This is likely due to an active climbing career in his younger days. The portion of his retired rack he's chosen to display include ring-angle and vertical pitons; steel carabiners. By the time the Work nears completion, I hope to hear some good tales about his adventures.

Believe me, if I could help kickstart Padula's restoration project, I would. Both the man and his Work are brilliant. It was a true pleasure to participate in his Q&A session, which followed his personal screening of both El Capitain, and Nyala during my college years at Berkeley. Many such events were a fairly common opportunity at School, and I got to hear from Bonnington; Whittaker; Rowell; and a Bridwell fresh off his and Brewer's alpine ascent of The Compressor Route.

Usually, my questions of these climbing luminaries were along the lines of "how can one integrate a professional and a climbing lifestyle with a life spent actually living in a home within the Mountains?"

The best advice came from Gaylen Rowell. I forget just what it was that he actually said, but it was to the effect that "you just go for it."

And I guess I must have been paying attention, because we were to relocate to the Bishop area nearly 25 years before he and Barbara did. Our untimely and tragic loss of them both in an aviation incident occurred before I had the opportunity to reintroduce myself to Galen, and personally thank him for his words of advice.

Has anyone else read the article on the making of the El Capitan movie in the most recent issue of Alpinist (40, I think)? Sounds as if money was a constant problem from almost the beginning of the project. The article is a good rendition of the problem of people trying their hardest to make a noncommercial work of art in an expensive medium (which film was in the predigital era).

I'm so cheap that once upon a time, I rented the IMAX Everest flick!!! - to play it a home on the 12" CRT TV which constitutes my Home Theater Media Center!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Right now, the Town has been adjudged a Chapter 9 Bankruptcy!!!But the abjucation, some 8 years to reach a final settlement, still obligates the Town to pay off its $29m, mediated settlement in annual $2m installments, for the next 30 years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Naturally, this $ has to come from somewhere!!! So, in addition to the consideration of a 1% sales tax increase, it looks as if the Town has going to continue to "restructure," and lay off many more of the staff it hasn't already!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And currently, the Town Council is scrutinizing it Police Dept, and its remaining LEO, since the PD's $2m+ budget is its largest single annual line item!!!!

Already, to keep the constituency safe, they need to allocate plenty of overtime for Mammoth's proudest!!!!! There's talk of contracting with the Mono County Sheriff's Dept, and eliminating the Town's Police Dept altogether!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!and this will leave many Men in Blue short on their PERS pension funds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(they've lived in provisos all their life, that is, living rent free in housing that's about to be condemned by the officials for vermin infestation, and pending structural failures) (and now the landlord ha promised to bring the property up to Health Code standards, having found another tenant who's will to part with some rent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and has served them with an alfalfa bale sized sheaf of eviction papers, including Section 16, Clause IX.B.f.ii (2a), which can only be deciphered with an electron microscope and a virus filter, and on which he failed to notice and appear before the Ninth Circuit District of Appeals Court before the 10 year statute of limitations expired!)!

D.F. 1 - " 'Awl right; I'll take over the script from here'
" 'another 2 days with the machine and her kidneys are functioning again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ' "